I slowly felt the light of the morning sun through my eyelids, waking up from my slumber and feeling the swollen pain in my eyes. My red and puffy eyes go on to reflect the constant crying from yesterday's event. But even through the pain… I feel a warm embrace over my body, bringing me closer to their arms.
This warmth... Is so familiar…
I look up to see the familiar long, silky white-hair that reminds me of only one person: Mother.
She was laying down, still sleeping with a subtle smile on her face as she continued to hug me tightly into her arms. The longer I felt the warmth of mother, the more I felt in peace… wanting to stay like this as long as possible.
A knock soon emerged from the door before Mia entered the room and quietly walked towards the bed with two other maids accompanying her.
Once we made eye contact, she let out a warm smile before waving at me. "Good morning, young master. I hope you had a pleasant sleep."
I happily nodded before mother began to wake up. She slowly rubbed one of her eyes before letting out a yawn.
Mia and the other maids bowed down when they saw her waking up. "Good morning, your grace. We will begin preparing you and the young master for the day.
Mother picked me up from the bed, letting out a smile before getting out of the bed herself to where the changing screen was. "I see. I hope today is a happy day…."
She gently passed me to Mia while the other maids began to change her from her undergarments.
They gently brushed her silky, white-hair while putting slight makeup on her face to emphasize her natural beauty.
Mia began to dress me up in the same usual attire: A blue vest over the white long-sleeve and black shorts.
After being changed, Mia gently sat me down on the couch before putting a blue tie ribbon on my collar and a soft textured blue bucket hat on my head.
She continued to stare at me with awe while other maids joined in the spectacle after they finished attending mother.
"How adorable you look, Young Master!"
Mother also joined in, blushing before picking me up into her arms with a bright smile across her beautiful face. "You are so cute, Lysander!"
Being treated like a child still feels awkward at times. Even now, receiving such compliments… I can't help but blush with embarrassment.
But still… It's nice to finally be treated like a normal child…
Mother patted me one more time before heading out the room, still carrying me, while Mia and the other maids followed behind.
As we walked down the hallway corridor, I looked through the window and down to where the knights were training. Sparing against each other while doing some extreme exercises.
Seeing them train so intently… I can't help but think how weak I still am.
Yesterday, I tried to cast fire, only for it to go out of control and explode on me. But even though I failed to summon fire, I was able to gain something. I can finally feel the wave of mana.
I continued to look at the knights that were still training before seeing some sort of fog surrounding them. The same fog that surrounded father when I first came to this world.
No… It's safe to say that it's what you call mana. Each person has a distinct mana color that represents everyone separately. The more rings a person has on their heart, the stronger the mana they emit.
I look at my hand and see a clear-white fog surrounding it. The color of my Mana is white...
I clenched my hand, slowly closing my eyes to try and recall what Leo said to me that day.
He was walking down the hallway, heading to the training grounds for magicians. When I saw him, I couldn't help but stop him and ask questions regarding the book I read about mana.
"How to feel the flow of Mana?" He scratched his head and thought for a bit, trying to come up with a satisfying answer to my question.
"It's quite hard to say... Being able to feel the flow of Mana is akin to achieving the first ring around your heart. It requires long effort and patience, usually lasting months or even years..."
He skeptically looked at me before closing his eyes.
"Just think of it as a sixth sense. It's the same as being able to identify all the single snowfall that falls from the sky before touching the ground. Feeling the breeze from every single leaf in the forest. Knowing the tremors of the earth from every footstep of every living being or knowing the current of every particle in the water in the world."
He slowly opened his eyes, looking even more serious than before.
"In order to feel mana, you must assimilate yourself with nature. All the nine elements of magic stem from the world. Of course, my previous examples are quite far-fetched. But if you can't understand the way each attribute works in the world and how every element represents you… Then you can't even fathom how mana flows in the world."
"I see..."
He quickly took out his pocket watch to check the time. "Forgive me, young master, but I need to leave for the training ground. I hope that I was able to answer your question."
He bowed down before leaving in a hurry.
I opened my eyes and saw that I'm at the dining hall. Mother slowly sat me down in a chair and then sat next to me while breakfast was being served in front of us by the servants.
Yesterday… I tried to summon fire. I slowly gaze at my hand, closing my eyes as I tried to recall the very same moment that I was in.
Yesterday, I failed to summon a flame because my aptitude for fire was one of the lowest. Unable to control the flame as I wanted to, it went out of my grasp which led to the explosion.
I recall experimenting with my attributes yesterday with the attribute crystal I found from the library.
By inputting mana into the ball, you can know which elements to use and what attribute you're more affiliated with. Records have shown that the maximum attribute that a person had was five.
But surprisingly, it stated that I had all nine attributes, and from the following order went my aptitude from greatest to least: Ice, Water, Light, Nature, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Fire, and Darkness.
We'll… It's mostly due to the Blessing of the Mana that I have affinity with all nine elements. It seems like one of the gifts that comes along alongside seeing and sensing mana.
Fire being low on my aptitude, I began to think the feeling once more that I tried with Fire, but this time with Ice.
Still having my eyes closed, I slowly extended my hand forward.
Ice…
A being that freezes everything it touches. It's one of the elements that help for the season called winter. Winter… a season so cold and unaware of the disaster it brings.
Yet… it also brings the familiar snow that many people enjoy and play with. Throwing snowballs at each other to display friendship, and create the further enjoyment of the warmth of fire as they gather around, and share beautiful moments of joy.
But what does Ice mean to me...?
I slowly open my eyes, suddenly finding myself in the depths of a forest filled with nothing but snow and ice. All the trees lost their leaves to store energy for the winter.
I take a step forward, looking at the wondrous and snowy forest. As I continued to walk forward, I suddenly saw a frozen lake.
The light shines through the ice, exposing the many plants and animals that still live inside the ice, yet completely frozen.
I gently placed my hand on top of the ice.
Ice...
Ice is so cold… Very cold…
It wraps around my heart… and dulls every emotion that I can never experience.
It's so cold, yet… It also calms me down when I'm most afraid. It eases my pain from the world, but also locks out the beautiful moments that I cherish with those I care about…
Ice... Ice is nothing more than a curse. A burden that I continuously carry…
A sin.
It drives away all my sanity and precious memories that I can never look back at…
Ice... It hurts....
The feeling of being frozen alive, unable to do or express anything I wish… Helplessly waiting for the time that I can finally be melted, only to be let down…
It hurts...
I look up from the frozen lake and gaze into the open field in front of me where no trees reside. In the distant view I see a figure of a person, mumbling something that I can't understand.
Every time I blink, I slowly see the figure getting closer to me. The closer it got, the clearer I could them, having the familiar white hair that I just saw. As they finally appeared in front of me, they quickly placed their hands down my shoulder, anxiously shaking me before calling out to me.
"Lysander!"
I quickly opened my eyes as my name was called out. Back in the dining hall, I slowly look at my hand, seeing the shards of ice enveloping my hand.
It doesn't hurt... But it still feels cold…
To activate any sort of magic and materialize it, mana is required. Vise versa, to stop a spell requires you to stop implementing your mana into the spell.
As the ice received more mana from me, it began to grow bigger and bigger. I immediately stopped supplying mana before clenched my hand.
After a few seconds, I hesitantly opened my hand, only to see fragments of the ice fall to the floor.
I glanced at mother, seeing her shocked and worried expression envelop her beautiful face.
A sudden headache stretched into my head.
Cold...
Everything feels… cold...
As my vision began to blur, I suddenly fell down from on the floor. As I continued to hear the commotion that came after I fell down on the floor, my eyelids started to close once again from exhaustion.
I'm sorry for worrying you, mother…
I can't help feeling guilty that you must worry about the mistakes and blunders I have made during these past few days.
But…
I just want to save you…
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Immediately after the white-haired boy fainted on the ground, the duchess immediately went and picked him up, hurriedly bringing him to the doctors and priest.
Once the doctors and priest took the fainted child from the duchess's hand, she immediately keeled over, aggressively grabbing the cloth around her heart.
The excruciating pain… the depleted mana… it can only mean one thing.
Seraphina is about to be born.
The duchess was immediately rushed towards her room, having to be separated from her fainted child. As she was being carried away, she could only try and reach out to him.
Many maids and servants stood inside and outside her room, preparing to welcome the new child. The duchess continues to sweat heavily, her mana being drained more than expected, putting her in a critical condition.
Mana is like the essence of one's life. If your mana is low, there's no telling what could happen.
The Bond of Mana is heavily dependent on the caregiver's mana, continuously draining it to help the child grow. If one's mana is close to empty, not only does it affect the caregiver's mana, but the child in them as well.
The mansion quickly springs into action as not only the white-haired boy is in critical condition, but also the duchess. Mia immediately takes out a red crystal. The light quickly glows as she speaks to the duke, who was out of the mansion.
Immediately after being notified, the duke desperately returns to the mansion. Once he arrived, he was quickly greeted by Mia, who reported the current situation.
"Thankfully, her grace's condition stabilized after taking a mana potion. But…." She hesitates to speak. "The young master… It seems he is in a comatose state…"
The duke's eyes widened with fear. "What…? Just what happened?"
Mia continues on to report the situation, and how the white-haired boy casted ice magic.
The duke continues to tap his feet impatiently. "... This is bad. I was hoping to bring Isabella and Lysander somewhere safe. Today… Today is when those troops will try and invade the mansion."
He quickly clenches his hand before looking calmly at Mia. "We will have to make some changes to the plan. Please, bring everyone to my office."
Mia nods. "Yes, your grace."
As the day slowly darkened, tension continued to arise in the mansion. Inside the duke's office there lies a lit fireplace just below the window. The duke anxiously sits down on the chair, gazing at the seven individuals in front of him.
Three of the individuals' identities are known: Mia, Leo, and Veda.
But the other four were not.
The duke's gaze slowly shifts to the two familiar robed people, the hoodie covering their heads. They slowly took off their hoodie, finally showing twins: A tall man and woman. From the looks of it, they seem to be in their early twenties.
Both have deep-brown skin with black hair and brown eyes. The man had a horizontal scar etched in his nose and short, ruffled hair.
The girl had her hair tied up in a high ponytail, the length reaching her upper back, while a scar goes vertically near the edge of her mouth.
Underneath their robes, they carry disposable blades, combat knives, and two short blades.
The duke then gazes at the tall, and muscular, tan-skinned man with short, messy blonde hair who also seems to be in his early twenties. His beautiful eyes blend in a mixture of green and lavender, with a slight hint of red. He carries a large sow in his hand, playfully smiling as he nudges the male twin. On one side of his neck shows a large scar reaching from his collarbone to his jaw.
Finally, the duke gazes at the last person in the room. A familiar young woman of Mia's age with rose skin and long, wavy red-hair with blue, crystal eyes, while wearing a priest outfit.
They stood in front of the duke, awaiting his command.
The duke slowly looks away from them, slightly feeling concerned about the current situation "... Tonight… We will initiate our plan. But I need to make some adjustments since Isabella and Lysanders are to remain in the mansion… Moving them out in their current conditions will only spell trouble."
He quickly looks at Mia, his eyes serious. "Mia. You'll be in charge of protecting both Isabella and Lysander. Make sure to quietly move Lysander into the room with her." He then throws her a small crystal blue gem. "Use this to cast a barrier. Make sure to protect them at all costs."
Mia nods, her eyes serious and understanding. "Yes, your grace."
He then looks at Veda, taking a moment to think before giving his command. "... Veda. You and Leo will guard the rear of the Mansion. They will most likely use the forest to try and do a surprise attack."
Both Veda and Leo nod.
The duke then looks at the female twin. "Nila," He then looks at the red-haired priest, "Priya. You two are now to guard the east side of the mansion."
Nila stoically nods while Priya takes a deep breath, trying to calm her nervousness
The duke finally looks at the remaining two people. Who looks at the male twin. "Nilo," he then looks at the blonde-haired man, "Qadir. Both of you will now be guarding the west side of the mansion."
The Qadir once again nudges Nilo, smiling playfully. Nilo gently brushed him off, trying to avoid his gaze while a hint of blush slowly filled his cheeks.
The duke slowly stands up, placing his hands down on the table as he looks at everyone. "I will be guarding the entrance, while the guards will protect the inner section of the mansion if they manage to infiltrate the estate." He then looks at Leo. "Leo… will you be able to cast the magic?"
Leo nods, fixing his glasses. "Yes. I'll be able to cast the silent magic around the mansion so the residents won't hear the commotions. I also casted some trap magic to hinder and reduce their numbers."
The duke let out a relief sigh. "I see. Thank you, Leo."
Leo shook his head. "It was no trouble, your grace."
The duke strokes his chin, trying to think of other factors he might've missed. "I still worry about some unknown variables. Especially the limited information gathered about the mercenaries who were hired by the count."
The duke picks up the multitude of papers in the desk, each showing sketches of different people, with some having more detailed information than others. One of them shows the image of a young girl with pink hair.
"This girl especially… There are few things known about her. The only thing that is mentioned is that she is a magic swordsman of the fifth ring..."
Everyone faces quickly stifles. Mia quickly chimed in. "... To think that a magic swordsman other than your grace appeared... Aren't their abilities superior to what their rings entail?"
The duke slowly closes his eyes, carefully thinking his words through as to not worry them. "... It is highly rare to see a magic swordsman, though not impossible. She might pose the most trouble out of all the hired mercenaries.
The duke reaches for his pocket watch and sees the time.
The duke reaches out to his pocket, pulling his pocket watch out to check the time. "... The planned time is almost here. Start heading to your posts now. We can't make any mistakes like last time."
Everyone bows before quickly dispersing out of the room. The duke stands in the room motionlessly before slowly walking towards the window. He looks out and sees the bright, full moon before looking at the paper of the pink hair girl in his hand.
"... It seems her wish was in vain."
He looks below the fireplace that was still lit and gently throws the paper into the fire, looking at the flame slowly filling burning the paper. Once the paper fully submerges into the flame, he closes his eyes before quietly leaving the silent room and to his selected post.
The fireplace slowly extinguishes, leaving behind nothing but ashes.
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A magic shard can have a variety of functions depending on their color.
But the most notable one is the red magic shard. When you input mana into the shard, it allows you to communicate with people from even the other side of the world.
The cost varies, though. It is especially if you want shards for more than two people to communicate. But the common one's are so affordable that even people of low income can afford in the Blakesty dukedom.
The duke and the other seven people have the same red magic shard to communicate with each other, be it to report anything major or just for simple communication.
The knights under the duke stood in the inner area of the manor, gazing at the duke who stood outside while the army of mercenaries ran indiscriminately to him with weapons of all kinds in their hand.
The duke, with the tip of his swords entrenched in the ground, gazes coldly at the mercenaries before letting out a deep sigh. He quickly pulls the sword out of the ground, before dashing at the mercenaries in front of him, slashing and stabbing them all with no mercy.
The knights inside continued to look at the spectacle, their eyes widened with both awe and fear as the duke they served under was overwhelming the army of mercenaries all by himself. His sword strikes the body of mercenaries beautifully. His movement is so refined and regal, that you can almost compare it to a dance…
In the rear area of the estate, Leo stands motionlessly in the lot while a gust of air and bright light surrounds him. His eyes closed tight as he concentrated tremendously.
Soon, mercenaries entered the forest, just like the duke predicted, and a series of bombardment began to initiate. Groups of mercenaries began to explode one after the other. Yet, they all continued to run through the forest until they reached the rear of the mansion.
Veda clicks his tongue."You better protect me, you Vampire!"
Veda, who stood in front of Leo untied her red robe, letting it fly up into the air and alongside the current of the wind. She slowly looks behind, gazing at Leo. "Half-Vampire for your correction. No need to be so aggressive."
Once again, Leo clicks his tongue. A bulky mercenary closed in on Veda as she continued to look at Leo.
Leo, with one eye open, flinched before shouting out to Veda. "Watch out!"
Veda quickly faced the mercenary before grabbing him from the neck, cutting off his breath. "So, you worry about me, how cute~"
Leo ignored her remark as he closed his eyes.
Concentrating on his magic. Maintaining the silent magic, remotely activating the selected trap magic. He has a lot on his plate that he must rely on Veda for protection.
Once Veda saw him concentrate on his magic, she slowly smirks to herself before gazing at the mercenary she was still choking. But by the time she gazed at the mercenary, he was already dead due to suffocation.
The other mercenaries reached the end of the forest. Veda saw them and smiled to herself before flinging the dead mercenary down at the ground without remorse.
She slowly adjusted her grip, now smiling sadistically at the mercenaries in front of her. "Hm… How long will this take? Hopefully, not too long…"
She quickly flicked both wrists and flexed her fingers before the metal part of her glove transformed into a claw-like weapon.
The mercenaries flinched at the sight but quickly resolved to fight her.
As they all began to run towards her, Veda stood motionlessly, smiling sadistically as her blood-red eyes shimmered red.
In an instant, Veda appeared before one of the mercenaries. The mercenary stammered at how she moved so quickly. Veda smiled once again before slashing the mercenary neck and decapitating him while blood gushed all over the place. The head mercilessly rolled down on the ground just before the body also did too.
The mercenaries quickly realized the overwhelming power of the opponent, and hesitated to move.
But in that single moment of hesitation among the mercenaries, dozens of them began to scream and die out as they hit the floor with either their heads gone, or their heart pierced. Blood spurted out from the dead bodies and into a small stream.
Leo ignored the cruel scene, as if used to it, and continued to concentrate on his magic.
Before she knew it, Veda had killed all the mercenaries in the area. She sighs with boredom before placing her leg on one of the dead mercenaries. A dark-red aura surrounded her as she licked the blood of her claw.
"How boring… I should've brought a book if I knew just how boring this would've turned out…"
In the west side of the mansion where Nilo and Qadir stationed, many mercenaries were already being killed.
A smoke bomb covered a small area, hindering the visions of the mercenaries. All of them were on guard, but only continued to look in front of them. Nilo appeared in their shadows before piercing their hearts from behind and disappearing into the shadows once again.
By the minute, Nilo continued to reduce the numbers of mercenaries. Just as he was about to eliminate another one, the mercenary quickly turned around and was about to slash him.
Even when the sword was about to slash his neck, Nilo continued to look at the motion with no emotion dodging by the hair. He quickly grabs the mercenary's head before breaking his neck.
Qadir, who was also at the scene, continued to slice the mercenaries with his farmer hoe. With such precision, he slashed the vital points and rendered them motionless before dealing the final hit. With most of the mercenaries already defeated, a brief period of relaxation came across for the two men.
Nilo slowly breathed in before feeling the familiar arms of Qadir around him. Qadir closed on his face, smiling warmly as he brought Nilo closer to him.
"Hey! it's been a while since we got together since we were both busy. How about we go for a drink later? I'm sure I can satisfy you like always~"
Nilo flinched before looking away from him, a small blush forming in his face. "Now is not the time. Let's talk later."
Qadir smiled enthusiastically at Nilo's response. "That means a yes, right? No take backs!"
Nilo closed his eyes, trying to shrug him off with the same blush filling his face.
More mercenaries entered the lot. Nilo quickly shrugs Qadir's arm before looking stoically once again. "Let's talk later. Right now, we need to focus on the task at hand. We don't want to disappoint his grace."
On the east side of the mansion, Nila and Priya were also holding off the groups of mercenaries.
Nila continued to onslaught the enemies head on while Priya stayed on the sideline, supporting her with healing magic and buffs.
Mercenaries who came too close to Priya were immediately impaled by a beam of light that was prepared in advance.
Nila, with her short blade, continued on to mercilessly stab the heart, neck, and head of the mercenaries while also throwing knives to impair them before striking the finishing blow.
As the number of mercenaries throughout the mansion continued to decrease by the minute, Mia stood inside the room, guarding the white-haired boy and the duchess who were resting in the bed.
Just like the duke instructed, Mia used the blue shard to cast a barrier to protect them, standing near the bed to keep guard while intently looking at her surroundings. In the near window of the room, a sudden whisper of the wind glides through the leaves.
Mia continued to stand silently before quickly drawing her swords to block the impending attack.
A pink-haired girl wearing a black robe clashed sword against Mia before quickly jumping back, staring at Mia emotionlessly.
Both of them continued on their standoff, staring at each other without moving an inch. As the ticking of the clock continued on, the pink-haired girl pointed the tip of her sword to the people resting on the bed. "Move. My aim is to kill them."
Mia scoffs before bringing her double swords in front of her. "You have to go through me first."
A pink aura began to surround the pink-haired girl while a peach aura began to surround Mia. They continued to look at each other with nothing but disdain, awaiting for the person to make their first move.
But in that single moment, the white-haired boy slowly woke up from his long slumber.